Apple has pulled Nest Learning Thermostats from its online Apple Store and its fleet of Apple Store retail locations. The news comes in the wake of the first HomeKit products being rolled out at the Apple Stores, and Mashablenoted that a HomeKit-compatible thermostat called ecobee3 has replaced it.

Nest Thermostats were first sold in Apple's retail outlets starting in 2012, shortly after the device's debut. The company was cofounded by Tony Fadell, the father of the iPod, and other former Apple employees.

But while designed and conceived by Apple alumni, Nest was purchased in 2014 by Google for some US$3.2 billion. In the year and a half since that purchase, Nest Thermostats have remained in Apple's retail stores, but that apparently changed recently.

One issue may be that Nest Thermostats don't support HomeKit, and Google hasn't announced support for HomeKit. It did, however, announce Brillo, a home automation platform that competes with HomeKit.

But there may be less to this move than meets the eye. Forbes, which first broke the news that Nest had disappeared, was given a statement by Nest that claimed a new generation of products are coming to Apple stores:

Apple is a valued partner to Nest and our new products will be available through Apple and other retail channels in the coming weeks.

Taken at face value, the disappearance of Nest Thromostat from Apple Stores could be temporary as Google rolls out new models.